From RAAC:

1. The "Build America's Libraries Act" would provide $5 billion to libraries and archives for infrastructure improvements. Now that the bill has been introduced in both the Senate (S. 127) and the House (H.R. 1581), it's time to build support for the legislation in Congress. You can help!  Visit the American Library Association's #BuildLibraries site for more information about the effort, including a list of Senators and Representatives who have signed on as co-sponsors of the bill. And take action now by urging your legislators to support the bill. For those who work in publicly funded facilities, the ALA asks you to share your stories (failures or successes) and data that it can use to illustrate the critical importance of this funding.

2. In an effort to begin monthly communications with RAAC representatives about all things advocacy related, the RAAC Advocacy Committee looks forward to highlighting existing advocacy resources, articles on advocacy, and any "of the moment" advocacy issues. 

This month's advocacy highlight is brought to you by RAAC Advocacy Committee member Megan Badgley-Malone. Advocacy is a constant learning process. The recommended reading by Megan highlights an innovative approach to archival advocacy that was undertaken at the University of Pittsburgh in 2011/2012 timeframe. From the article abstract: "Having graduate archival studies students work on documentary teaching packets is also a way for students preparing for archival careers to learn how to become advocates for archives. At the University of Pittsburgh-in a course called Archival Access, Ethics, and Advocacy-students drew on the extensive Governor Dick Thornburgh Papers to construct document teaching packets."

Here is the article citation and link to the article: 

"Archival Document Packets: A Teaching Module in Advocacy Training Using the Papers of Governor Dick Thornburgh," by Richard Cox, Janet Alcalá, and Leanne Bowler. The American Archivist (2012) 75 (2): 371–392. Available for free online:doi.org/10.17723/aarc.75.2.04778333025635m0